Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the most famous and prolific composers of his day, and his serious works are part of the classical canon, but he’s best known to the general public for this short tone poem. He composed the theme in 1872 as a piano piece to accompany a poem called “Égalité, Fraternité” by his friend Henri Cazalis before expanding it into the more familiar orchestral version.
“La Danse Macabre,” the legend of the dead emerging from their graves on All Hallows’ Eve, dates back to medieval times (the detail of Death playing the fiddle came later). In its traditional form, Death is portrayed as the great equalizer, coming to kings and popes as well as commoners. Cazalis being French, he gives the tradition a carnal interpretation, as a baroness’ skeleton dances with – quelle horreur! – a common workman’s, before the cock crows at dawn and the dead return to their tombs.
The expanded composition, minus the lyrics, debuted two years later. Death begins playing at the stroke of midnight, signified by 12 notes plucked on the harp, and the music gains intensity until the oboe, portraying a rather melodious rooster, brings an end to the celebration. The piece wasn’t immediately popular – early audiences found it unsettling, and critics weren’t crazy about its reliance on the xylophone to imitate the rattling of skeleton bones. When Death takes up his bow at midnight tonight, those critics will all stay in their graves.
